1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
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Two years, $36 million. A good move that can be made better if the right outfielder is displaced. More in the morning.

Update: Okay, I couldn't resist getting this in before midnight.

This move improves the Dodgers, but they can shortcircuit it by overvaluing or undervaluing the wrong players.

Signing Jones (at the cost of a $12 million signing bonus, a $9 million salary in 2008 and $15 million in 2009, according to Tony Jackson of the Daily News - the fifth-highest average annual salary in baseball history, Dylan Hernandez of the Times notes) should not leave the Dodgers satisfied to play Juan Pierre in left field, nor need it push the team into trading Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier. An Ethier-Jones-Kemp outfield is practically a dream for this franchise.

Signing Jones should also not discourage the Dodgers from trying out Andy LaRoche at third base. LaRoche, many people believe, has as much power upside as any Dodger, including Kemp or James Loney. (LaRoche's career minor-league slugging percentage and OPS is higher than the others; I don't know how many Dodger fans realize this.) There are better third basemen out there, but there are also plenty worse, and giving up a good player for marginal improvement (let alone decline) would me a mistake.

Don't get me wrong: There are still good trades the Dodgers could potentially make, but the thinking here is solid - add talent without disrupting the core.

Jones, of course, made his major-league debut at 19, hitting two homers in the World Series that year, and has had an above-average OPS+ for eight of the past 10 seasons. Jones won't knock you out with his on-base percentage: career-high of .366, and only once above .350 in the past five years. His offensive value depends on his power, and what happened is that he went from 51 homers in 2005 to 26 in 2007.

That he fell on his face this past season, aside from putting a lie to the idea that imminent free agency guarantees a great year, reminds us that there are no guarantees from former All-Stars once they turn 30. Dodger fans need look no further than Nomar Garciaparra's 2007 to know that. At the same time, hopes are high that injuries were at fault and that the injuries have been solved. The Dodgers wouldn't be the Dodgers if they weren't taking a health risk, but I'm having trouble being pessimistic.

At least defensively, Jones will help. A winner of 10 consecutive Gold Gloves, no matter how quirky that vote can get, figures to be an improvement over Pierre in center.

The signing also fulfills my dream of pushing Jeff Kent down the batting order from cleanup, where he just doesn't belong. The Dodgers will be pretty righty heavy, however. Here's what we could see in April:

That ain't bad, folks. With Tony Abreu or Chin-Lung Hu subbing defensively for Kent in the late innings, I'm ready to battle with that lineup. And Kent should probably be able to ease even further down that batting order road as the kids heat up.

As for the Ethier-Pierre resolution, though Pierre figures to have the advantage because of his contract status and phantom value in the eyes of some, just remember that Colletti has every reason to boost Ethier, as he represents one of his most popular trades. And once you move Pierre out of center field, you render one of his few assets, his defensive speed, much less important. And remember, Colletti has cut bait on acquisitions that didn't work out the way he planned each of the past two seasons.

Certainly, though, the leading speculation is that Kemp or Ethier will go in a package for a starting pitcher. If that happens, he'd better be a gem, because a Pierre-Jones-Ethier outfield isn't nearly as compelling.

If it's cool with everyone else, I'm going to wait on the gloom/doom or joy decision until we see what happens our fourth outfielder situation.
If Pierre is playing somewhere else next year, than this is a great move. If Pierre is in left for the Dodgers next year, it's a lateral move.

Bringing this up from the bottom of the previous thread (forgive the repetition):

Let me join in the invocation: please oh please, let it be Pierre who is traded.

Reasons to keep Kemp and Ethier:
(1) They're better than Pierre (might as well begin with the obvious)
(2) Jones has a short term contract, and the Dodgers do not have much outfield depth in the system. All the more reason to keep some young outfielders.
(3) As a left-handed hitter, Ethier provides some balance to the heart of the lineup -- otherwise, only Loney hits left. Yeah, Pierre is a lefty as well, but that's less important batting after Furcal or in the 8 slot.
(4) Kemp could hit 40. Keep him. Keep him. He stings the ball like no one I've seen play for the Dodgers since, well, Piazza.

With every 3B short of Mike Schmidt rumored for our GAPING HOLE, I think the yin to this yang will be LaRoche playing elsewhere in 2008. Maybe LaRoche/Ethier can bring back an ace and keep Kemp around.

I love the deal. How often can you lock up this sort of talent for only two years at a reasonable rate?

I will be positively ecstatic if they dump Pierre instead of Ethier or Kemp, but remember that we should still get a quality return if we do trade one of the youngsters.

My ideal scenario: trade Pierre for whatever, let LaRoche play 3B
Worst-case scenario: Kemp is traded at less than full value for a suboptimal choice (i.e. someone like Rolen)
My bold prediction: Kemp, Hu, and Meloan to the Orioles for Bedard and Tejada

Lets hope this isn't one more of Colleti's fading star signings. The scouting reports I have seen say Jones is really in danger of fading more. $18M a year is a lot for a 220 hitter, but I am happier about this than trading for a 3B. I really can't see Pierre in left for 162 games (it is one thing to put him in center, but I may have to boycott much of the season if he is in left). He has to be traded.

Let LaRoche and Nomar battle it out at 3rd. I still think LaRoche is an undervalued prospect. Another pitcher would be nice in lieu of the Schmidt disaster, but a Schmidt, Penny, Lowe, Bills, Loazia/Kuo rotation is at least okay on paper.

16 You also run a much higher risk of him continuing to lose his skills and be a true burden. Even if last year was the beginning of the end (doubtful), we're only on the hook for two years. Long-term contracts should be reserved for elite players with excellent health portfolios.

doom and gloom is not an option. kemp and either are not leaving. if anyone leaves it will be pierre. I don't know how it happened but the dodgers are making all the prudent moves. fear not these are golden days

A good move that can be made better if the right outfielder is displaced.

Well, not our right outfielder - that's Kemp.

If it requires Ethier to get Bedard, well, OK. Otherwise, I sure hope not.

I suspect that, short of something like that (and how many "somethings" are there like Bedard?) they won't trade any outfielder. Ethier will start the year as 4th outfielder, but will have to be given chances in both left and right field, like last year. This year that will displace Pierre much more often than Kemp. Before the trading deadline, if Ethier is the good Ethier, Pierre will be on the verge of being 4th outfielder, and will instead get traded by the deadline, Dodgers eating much of the salary, for whichever part of the pitching staff needs bolstering (or, god forbid, some other position ruined by injury).

25 On paper that rotation looks better than what we threw out there last year...when we had the 6th best pitching staff in the NL. Having McDonald, Elbert, and maybe even Kershaw available this year don't hurt either.

According to Webster's it's "KERR-uh-sau," unless you're from Britain, or you're Vinny, then it's "KERR-uh-so."

And don't get me started on Jones' first name. Why on earth has a random letter "U" caused so many people to butcher the first name as "ON-drew"? It's not even part of the same syllable, people! Rick Monday, I hope you're listening. Just pretend you're saying "Andrew."

I can certainly live with that lineup. Nice balance too. Also, great defense as all are above average defensively except Kent at 2nd (Abreu will be a late inning defensive/pinch runner replacement often).

Since The Godfather was brought up last thread (way back in the days before the Dodgers had Andruw Jones!), I can't stop thinking about casting The Dodger Godfather. Here are some choices I have come up with so far. Feel free to add more:

I agree. There is some more support for the rotation in case of injury this year. I wouldn't count on Kershaw yet though. I think he is a 2009/2010 arrival unless he gets his control under control from the get go in 08.

Jones will receive a $12.2 million signing bonus, of which $5.1 million is payable next year, $2.1 million in 2009 and $5 million in 2010. He well get salaries of $9 million next year and $15 million in 2009, and also will receive a no-trade clause

This is the first move I wanted. Dodgers just improved their power, their defense at a premium position and in turn their pitching staff. They did it without burning a draft pick or gumming up the payroll long-term. They attacked a buy-low opportunity for a potential Hall of Famer who is 30. The friendship with Furcal is a nice touch, too.

Now the Dodgers need to give Jones a bit more rest than Cox allowed. And Jones probably needs to get in better shape.

Doubt Jones ever gets back into peak form. He has too big of a swing, chases too many sliders. But a 115 OPS-plus, 30 HRs and good defense are realistic.

Another reason to move Pierre rather than Eithier is Delwyn Young. If Pierre is in left, he pretty much has to play 162 according to tradition leaving no time for a potential masher like Young, who I think should get a look at least as a 4th outfielder/DH in American league games.

Well hopefully Jones stays healthy and uses these two years as contract years since he blew this one so badly. Maybe we just bought two contract years for the price of one? Wishfull thinking and all that. heh.

Pierre's contract basically makes him untradeable. $9 million is a lot for a reserve outfielder, but they got to pay the money regardless and he's a good guy to have as a reserve outfielder. Heck, the Angels have four outfielders with higher salaries than Pierre.

Anyway, I expect a big season out of Jones. Often times when a guy has an uncharacteristically bad year he follows it up with a big one. Think Mike Lowell 2006 or Paul Konerko 2004.

59
For $15 a car, I have no problem with that. It is pretty funny that both the Dodgers and Angels signed huge contracts to both Pierre and Matthews for 5 years each and then the very next year went out and got an even more expensive center fielder. I don't see either of them in left field next year one way or another, but I have been surprised before.

3345 If there is a sense that Jones need more rest, then I expect that we will go into spring training with a 4-headed beast, rather like last year. I don't expect Ned to acknowledge that Pierre was a mistake quite so quickly or easily that he will trade him during the off-season. The best that we can hope for is that Pierre will be the most overpaid utility outfielder in the bigs.

May be wishful thinking on my part, but I think this does improve the chances of LaRoche getting a meaningful opportunity to win the job. Rolen's bat becomes less appealing, I suspect -- and maybe the Rolen stuff was a ruse relating to negotiations with Andruw.

62 Nice addition. Until we hear from Ned, Joe and the rest, we don't know what else they have in store outside of that A. Jones is going to be playing CF for the Dodgers.

If Kent comes back, you now have Martin, Loney, Kent, Furcal, Ethier/Kemp/Pierre/Jones and 3B. You can play LaRoche in that situation and Ned is now saying that the job will be up for grabs this spring.

My fear was that if Kent didn't come back and they did not add someone like Andruw Jones, the Dodgers would be more inclined to go after someone to play 3B.

Like I said earlier, we will have a better idea tomorrow when I am sure there will be a press conference or conference call but for now, hey I think we are back doing good moves now lets see if we can make a great move.

I agree with Jon's update assessment; this is a solid move, and the very worst that you can say about it is there are no obvious flaws or insane risks. We won't be looking back on it and complaining about Ned's intelligence or sanity. This is not a Kevin Malone-type signing.

But wasn't Ethier one of dePodesta's acquisitions, or am I misreading that last graf?

I really do think the Dodgers need to get Andruw a bit more rest than he got with the Braves. His workload has been phenomenal and he is past his peak years. Nothing wrong with giving him 15-20 starts off. I recall hearing that he is icing his knees more these days. Cox never sat him and those Atlanta summers are brutal.

74 - Honestly, I think Pierre in left lasts no more than two losses due to runners tagging up from third on balls hit to Pierre, as Vishal said in 13 . I have no doubt that guys will try and score from third on fly balls to left if Pierre is there, and the moment it starts costing the Dodgers wins certain columnists will be howling.

BTW, I was talking to ToyCannon about this and I wonder if someone else differs on this point but I think Jeff Kent's deadline is March 1st because that is the last day to report to Spring Training under the CBA.

Kent has a contract in theory, he is on the 40 man roster, he does not get paid until Opening Day so really, the Dodgers cannot really force his hand until he is contractually bound to perform.

He cannot go to another team, demand a trade or anything. He could retire but I believe the Dodgers would still retain his rights if he tried to quit and then resign with someone else.

My hunch is that the Jones deal is enough for Kent to sign on, if they were to deal for a pitcher, that would clinch it.

It feels really really weird to say this, but I actually feel confident that Ned and friends will do the right thing and trade Pierre (or at the least, not trade Kemp). This offseason has been nothing but pleasant surprises so far and I honestly believe that this regime has learned its lesson.

That, or they started reading Dodger Thoughts since they keep stealing our ideas :)

Re: Pierre targets
I read Texas likes Corey Patterson. Gotta figure Rowand goes to Chicago. Cameron is a wildcard. I think Minnesota can use Pierre if they hold on to Santana. And Dusty Baker would love to have him back.

There's no real guessing the batting order, and no reason to assume it would be the same from game to game anyway. Your points about Loney are valid, but even in your order there are three righties in a row.

I have Ethier batting eighth on the assumption that Nomar will be the opening day third baseman, and that he wouldn't bat eighth.

87 If Kent retires this offseason, then Grady Little will be our opening day second baseman. (Note that this is one of those if then statements that is true as a whole because the independent statement is always false)

You're right on the merits, Jon. But I think it's much more likely that we'll be waving goodbye to Matt Kemp in the near future.

With Nomar and Pierre in the opening day lineup in place of Kemp and LaRoche, we'll still have a deeply flawed offense. Kemp will bring a boost to the rotation, but overall you'll be looking at a team that's a lot more expensive and potentially only a little bit better.

100 - Well, I don't want to see Kemp traded, but I would like to think that whatever trade the Dodgers might make with their young players would at least bring equal or greater value for 2008, even if it hurts the team in the long run.

As someone said last topic, i think the fact that the contract is for 2 years is a good sign that Kemp is staying. It would be absolutely hideous if we trade Kemp for Bedard, and in two years, both Bedard and Jones leave.

Long term, how confident can you be in a GM who needs to spend $36 million one year to make up for the $40 million that he threw down a rat hole the year before when he "addressed" the team's CF needs?

101 do we really need a boost to the rotation? if schmidt is healthy (yeah, a pretty big if, to be sure), we've got a LOT of pitchers who can possibly contribute. bills, penny, and lowe are solid. if we figure that schmidt and loaiza combined can be cobbled together tomake 4th starter, we should have NO trouble making a 5th starter from the likes of kuo, hull, stults, probably kershaw or elbert later in the season, and maybe even a spot start or two from any of hendrickparkmillermacdonalduff.

Would you believe that even with Andruw Jones having one of the worst years of his career, he still hit MORE home runs than anyone on the Dodgers? He hit 26. Nobody else on our current roster hit more than 20.

Once the Andruw signing is official, the Dodgers will have 39 players on the 40-man roster. 27 of the 39 (69%) are "homegrown", in that they were either drafted or signed as an amateur by the club or have played in the majors exclusively with LA (like Ethier & Houlton).

For comparison purposes, the Twins have 23 of 38 homegrown players, 60.5%.

The Pierre to left story reminds me of the Izturis to third plan a couple years back. It makes a nice story, and it may protect some veteran egos, but pretty soon everyone should realize that when you shift an already sub-par hitter to the right in the defensive spectrum, bad things happen. So look for the Dodgers to trade Pierre for Maddux in a couple months.

84 Last season, the average number of sacrifice flys for a National League team was 47, the league leaders tied at 58. So that is under 1 every 3 games so unless you can forecast an increase in those oppurtunities, I don't think there will be an onslaught of sacrifice flys that will raise concerns about Pierre's arm in LF.

: that may be expended: as a: normally used up or consumed in service b: more easily or economically replaced than rescued, salvaged, or protected.

They Were Expendable (1945): Shortly after Pearl Harbor, a squadron of PT-boat crews in the Philippines must battle the Navy brass between skirmishes with the Japanese. The title says it all about the Navy's attitude towards the PT-boats and their crews.

122 Kemp's "lack of baserunning skills?" That's a huge misnomer. His running led to a lot of infield hits. Loney's the slow one. Kemp is a total athlete. He's just picky about being near garbage, that's all. Like Jerry Seinfeld.

There is no reason on earth to trade Kemp unless it brings a huge return. I understand the O's have already rejected Kemp and Kershaw for Bedard. We shouldn't have to go that much higher.

With Jones and Kemp both in the lineup, we can afford to be a little less solid in the pitching rotation.

11 teams want Bedard; I don't think we're getting him, and if we don't get him, I don't see Kemp going anywhere. Pierre and even Ethier might move in trades for smaller pieces, but Kemp is bait only for the biggest fish.

It's not as if the two guys are really competing with each other. If the Dodgers can't get suitable return on a deal with Kemp as a centerpiece, and knew they were going into Spring Training with four starting outfielders, they might well eat Pierre's contract in a trade. Or just let Ethier be 3.5 again.

But the reason Kemp is more likely to be traded is because at his salary, he is valued more highly by MLB. It's that simple.

The Dodgers, who have seemingly had one foot in and one foot out of just about every deal here, are probably not a contender for Bedard. The package that was supposedly offered was setup man Jonathan Broxton and outfielder Matt Kemp, but Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told an L.A. reporter he had no interest in trading Broxton, and a Dodgers source said they wouldn't trade Kemp unless they had already closed a deal with free agent Andruw Jones to replace him, which they did Wednesday.

126 The Braves had the Jones boys and Texeira and they could not get passed some shaky pitching.

With Kent and a healthy Furcal, the Dodgers are in position to have a team with the potential for double digit home runs at every spot. I think that is something that Ned and the rest of the front office has to consider before making their next deal.

"A Dodgers source said that if the season began today, Pierre would compete with Andre Ethier for playing time in left field. Matt Kemp and Ethier would be penciled into right field.

"Another option is to trade an outfielder, but a source said that Kemp is not expected to be dealt despite the widespread interest in him. However, Colletti now has flexibility to come up with a package that might fetch a premier pitcher such as Erik Bedard of the Baltimore Orioles or Dan Haren of the Oakland A's. First, though, the Dodgers are trying to sign Japanese starter Hiroku Kuroda, who wants a four-year, $40 million deal and also is being pursued by the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks."

By itself I love this move. I have a hard time believing Jones will put up another year like this year again in the next two. I don't think we have to worry about somebody leading the team with 20 home runs again.

Of course we now have to see who the odd man out is in the outfield. Keeping Pierre would suck. If we got rid of Pierre, we'd go from 2/3rds of a terrible outfield last year to one of the best outfield defenses in the game with great arms in all three places. Signing another centerfielder a year after giving one $45 million means Ned as admitted his mistake. Jones isn't taking his 10 gold gloves and hall of fame bound resume out of center field. Hopefully Ned will realize that Pierre is a sunk cost and will Russ Ortiz him if necessary. I still think that with his 60+ steals last year, someone would be interested in having him at say half the price.

Bold prediction: Pierre will start every game in left field for the Dodgers for at least 2 more seasons. I don't blame everyone for fantasizing about a Fredo-free world, but I think you're just setting yourselves up for torment. I don't think Colleti has the guts to trade Kemp, but I think Ethier is gone. I don't think Andrew is better overall than Ethier at this point, so I'm not terribly excited about all this. Ethier won't fetch much on his own either.

I think AJON will get a boost to his .249 BABIP from last year. His LD% was down slightly and his FB% was up slightly but not enough for the .249 BABIP. Alot of his 92 homeruns from 2005-2006 became warning track fly balls in 2007, hopefully for our sake the cause of this was from his injury. At the very least AJON should get a decent boost to his overall numbers just from moving out of the pitchers park in Atlanta into the more neutral park of Dodger Stadium. I would expect to see a 35-40 point boost to his OPS based on moving to a more hitter friendly park alone. My over/under for AJON would be about an .850 OPS.
vr, Xei

IMO, the most likely scenario is that we enter ST with both Pierre and Ethier. What happens after that may depend on a lot on Torre. Then we would just pray that Ethier gets hot in ST and at the start of the season, while Pierre slumps. My impression is that once Torre decides to make a roster change, he tends to stick with it; hopefully he starts Ethier in LF, and Pierre becomes the 4th OF who's eventually traded.

There is much I could say about this signing, but I will limit my comments to this:

1. There is no way (no way!) Andruw Jones deserves to be the fifth-highest paid player in 2008, much less the fifth-highest paid player in baseball history. Even at his best, he's nowhere near that good. What a farce.

2. Can we void his contract if his name shows up in the Mitchell Report?

Yes! This is a good thing to wake up to... now this team could win 10 more games next year with Jones and the removal of Pierre. Addition and addition by subtraction. Another arm in the rotation and we should be set.

171 And how does that hurt the team? Him in his worst season is still better than Pierre. Not like our payroll is too bloated and cant handle it. Thats one of the advantages to being a large market team, we can take risks like this without killing ourselves. Salary is no object with a 2 year deal and the contracts we have coming off the books next season.

174 - His HR/FB went down only this year, and had actually been much higher in 2005 and 2006 His BABIP has been below average the last three years, he just didn't hit as many balls out of play this year. I don't see how you can argue that a two year spike followed by a drop in HR/FB can evidence an overall decline in power.

Whew Weee. 12 million signing bonus, 9 mill first year, 15 mill last. Jonesy better have a bounce back year. I think he has a few good years left, hopefully. He's not exactly a young man anymore, and he hasn't taken the best care of himself physically.

I'm glad colets and company keep this deal to 2 years

Its a start, we need power in our lineup, let me repeat, we need power in our lineup!

The sweaty one is back, ladies.

How's it goin Jon? I need to order some more DT shirts, as Christmas Presents.

The money for Jones is indeed ridiculous, and his health is questionable, but the plus side is that it is only a two-year contract, which I never thought Boras would give up. Two years also, I think, make it less likely that NedCo trades the future in Kemp or to a lesser extent Either, unless he can add Bedard. The real incentive for Colletti is to move Pierre and part of that salary--part because we'd have to subsidize JP wherever he goes. Given past deals, I've seen no indication that NedCo will hesitate to move JP if he can make a trade.

By the way, I think this makes it more likely that LaRoche and not some stiff like Rolen is the third baseman. NedCo thinks he's added the power he needs.

I've lived in suburban Atlanta for seventeen years, and watched the Braves play a lot. Jones has never been a favorite, but he's an amazing defensive player, and if his elbow and mechanics get healthy, Jon's dream of yesterday may well come true.

Wow, what a story to wake up to. To land that big bat without giving up players or a long contract is too good to be true. I know a trade could follow, but things have gone so well I can almost believe the D's could hold at leat Kemp as Jones and Pierre will leave in a couple of years and there isn't much down the system. I also echo someone who earlier said if we give up much for a pitcher, he better be a beaut.

Bedard seems a good one, but I don't know if he is really available. Did that crazy Oak-Twin-Mets trade go through?, guess I'll go check. I can only hope Pierre is in the trade, but someone who really deserves a chance to play is Young, though I doubt his hitting ability is appreciated enough to give him good trade value.

Anyone else worried by the fact that he's probably coming down off the juice and his numbers will never be what they were two years ago? What about the fact he needs to lose 30 lbs? I sure hope they gave him a better physical than they gave Schmidt...

A certain agent on Carlos Pena, who's looking for a multi-year deal after a single good season:

"Getting a long-term deal for those types of seasons are difficult," said Boras, "because you have a scaling that the club argues it happens only once and our opinion is it'll probably repeat itself."*

Gee. I wonder if his opinion is that Andruw Jones's 2007 will repeat itself.

I believe a clause in Jonesy's contract says he must have his colon cleansed after every away series. Dodger medical staff believes this will help free up the log jam in Andruws colon and intestines, thus helping him maintain a playable weight

I guess so. My advisor wants me to do a pretty significant revision of chapters 5 and 6, which is what I'm working on as we speak. In general, he thinks they're too complicated and he wants me to cut out a bunch of stuff. My final document will probably be around 200 pages, with an additional 200 pages of stuff I had to cut out.

I don't really care too much about what happens, as long as I'm able to defend it in time to submit it at the April 11 deadline.

Let's bring Gagne back for a cheap, heavily incentive laden deal, now is the time to pounce on bringing "game over" back to chavez ravine, he was horrible with the Sox, we can pick him up cheap, i hear he wants to come back to us. We do need to add bull pen depth

For everyone who's critical of this deal, I'd like to know what their alternative is? Aaron Rowand? Who supposedly wants five years. Fukudome? Who also wants a long-term deal, and is unproven in MLB? Ethier, and perhaps even Kemp, may be traded later this off-season, but that's all speculation--the fact remains that the only move Ned's made is to give a contract to Jones, which in this market looks quite reasonable. And free agent value is determined not by what we think is reasonable, but what the market will bear. And because we have no OF alternatives on the farm, free agency was the only place where we could upgrade without sacrificing prospects in the process.

Ned loves depth, and right now, we have pretty much none when it comes to OFs (I don't think Repko really counts, and Young's too unproven). For that reason, I think we'll probably open the season with Pierre and Ethier both on the roster.

I'm assuming a job hunt is in the offing? I hope that goes well for you

You assume correctly, and thanks for the well wishes. I have been encouraged by certain things thus far, but it is still very early in the process I'm a long way from actually getting a job, not to mention one that makes everyone in the household happy.

really nice write up Jon, I just can't get to exited with an outfield of Pierre, Jones, & Ethier (worst case scenerio) I really hope Ned moves Pierre to the white sox or something. Now, & out field of Ethier (lf) Jones (cf) & Kemp (rf) is pretty dreamy if you ask me.

196 I had to get mine ready by x date, or go to my new job as an instructor rather than assistant professor, with a significant difference in salary. It's funny how much you can get done with incentive clauses ;-)

Face it Neddy, if you want what best for the Dodgers you need to make J.P. the clubhouse go-fer boy and towel boy. He would be fantastic. He would still be wearing the uniform and have a job that will positively impact the clubhouse, thus earning his pay check.

BTW: Of the 9 positions for which I've applied, UIUC is the best program for what I do. It looks like a cold place to live, and Mrs. D4P is not excited about moving to another relatively small town, but it would be a very good place for me.

What's the biggest contract a team has eaten? Basically a guy who's been set free in a multi-year deal due to ineffectiveness, (not relegated to the bench because of injury) Is it Russ Ortiz? I'm wondering because I can't see someone taking Pierre in a trade. And I can't see the Dodgers cutting their losses with 35 mill owed?

Ken, if you're bored, here's the webpage of my Vintage baseball team--closest I come to re-enacting. The irony, as I tell my teammates, is I really know next to nothing about baseball history in the 1860s in any academic sense of the term:

Can someone explain why Alfredo Silverio is up for the rule 5 draft? I know we got him out of the Dominican a while ago, but he's had only one season in the GCL as far as I can tell, and did very well. Probably not a good chance we'll lose him?

I do agree with D4P in that the OBP is a concern, because if the power goes the way of Shawn Green or Nomar's, you've lost the key element of his game. I'm counting on a bounceback in health, and with the Dodgers, that's always a little scary.

221 I send Urban planners to Utah, land of sprawl and lack of foresight. This is where we build homes for 20,000 people on the other side of a lake, over the course of 10 years, then realize -- whoops -- we forgot to build roads out there!

243
My department is looking to hire a senior faculty member. The most recent candidate began his job talk by showing a photo of some young girls holding signs. One said something about zoning being Satanic and the other said "God hates planners".

196 Of course, you're saving what advisor told you to cut out for when you are told at the last minute that chapters 5,6 need to be beefed up. It's happened more than once, not to me, just people I've met. Have fun with that thing!

208 Assistant Professor salary is part of why I didn't stay in science. I hope its gone up relatively since then!

On the Dodger front, the ESPN Baseball today podcast for 12/5 mentioned that Texas has an interest in Pierre. Not saying that means anything imminent, just a data point. Not sure if Pascarelli or Gammons was the source.

And as I expected, the Dodgers lose LHP Wesley Wright in the Rule 5 draft. The Astros grabbed him. We didn't lose anybody else in the MLB portion of the draft. The minor league portion is going on now.

259 -- No, we've got Lucas May and Carlos Santana at catcher, though they aren't great prospects (but neither was Apodaca). May is actually using up a 40-man roster spot that could have been used to protect Wesley Wright.

as always, I'm late to the discussion. I'd blame it on being on the East Coast, but that should mean I'm first to them...

Anyhow, here's my question (and this has probably been discussed ad nauseum). How much trade value does Pierre really have? Like everyone here, I hope (that's not a strong enough word) they keep Kemp. But it seems that this past season has exposed Pierre's one dimensional skills more than in the past.

I realize his stats aren't all that much of a deviation from the norm, but - and maybe just because he's now with the dodgers and I pay a lot more attention - it seems that he's fairly widely viewed for what he is... Decent average, but low OBP. No power, below average defense. Is there left in MLB a 2006 Coletti who would be willing to take on his contract or trade anything meaningful?

239. Everyone in Chicago still calls it Champaign-Urbana, in fact if most people feel the need to specify beyond just saying U of I, they will call it Illinois- Champaign. Even the professors I knew there never referred to it as UIUC unless it was in an academic setting. I really don't understand how hard it would have been to type out an understandable name rather than UIUC and then when someone asked not just saying what it was instead of putting a web address.

267
Rule 14: From now on, abbreviations are not allowed. UCLA will be written out as The University of California at Los Angeles. OPS will be written out as On-base Percentage Plus Slugging. ERA will be written out as Earned Run Average. VORP will be written out as Value Over Replacement Player. EQA will be written out as Equivalent Average. AAA will be written out as A A A. D4P will be written out as The Trade In Which The Dodgers Aquired Delino DeShields In Exchange For Pedro Martinez. Etcetera.

Wow, people on ESPN Radio right now are not high on the Andruw Jones signing. Figures. The guy on right now is like what would happen if Plaschke had his own radio show.

Now I remember why I was initially reluctant to an Andruw Jones signing: I assumed that management would revive the Kemp/Ethier platoon. Provided that either Ethier or Kemp can play full time, I can put that worry to rest.

Here's a Dodger-related blurb from John Donovan's latest dispatch. The piece is about is about how "untouchable" prospects from many teams have suddenly become available in some hypothetical deals. He mentions six teams as examples, then holds the Dodgers out as exceptions:

If there's one team that has stuck to its young guns this winter, it's the Dodgers. General manager Ned Colletti has had plenty of interest in a core of fantastic young players. Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, James Loney and Andy LaRoche all have been mentioned, at one time or another, in different trade scenarios.

So far, Colletti has resisted the urge to break up the family. The price, in his mind, has been way too high. And it's hard to argue with his logic.

"You fill a one-year need with a tremendous player," he told L.A.-area reporters on Tuesday night, "and look around and have three more needs to fill. I'm not sure how you gain ..."

Love the signing, but I don't think we should all insist on Pierre getting traded. Why not go into the season with more than three potential starting outfielders? It's the same reason any team realistically needs more than five starting pitchers when you get into the season.

The problem is this insistence that Pierre plays every day. If Torre can use him wisely -- part-time starting, 300-400 ABs, some pinch-running and pinch-bunting -- then he's valuable. Grossly overpaid, but valuable.

Ned Coletti does not make out the lineup card. He hired supermanager Joe Torre to do that. If Joe Torre wants to win, he'll play the best players on the roster, regardless of their contractual status.
It's been noted that Torre had odd fetished for guys like Tony Womack and Enrique Wilson, but when you are fielding the type of lineup and pitching staff that Torre had when he was playing those guys, you can afford to do things like that.
Torre's margin for error is far smaller with this team and if he's as bright and respected as he's billed, he'll figure out pretty quickly who he needs to play and who he needs to bench.

If Jim Tracy can play Jason Phillips at 1B despite what his boss prefers, Joe Torre can play anyone but Pierre.

sometimes its really frustrating reading this blog. why would ned ever trade kemp loney or ethier? he couldnt trade kemp because hes the obvious rising star of the dodgers, to shed him now for ANYONE left on the block is ridiculous. I mean, even for Haren or Santana, its a horrible deal. Ethier is good trade bait, but he's ned's BEST acquisition and to shed him over pierre just doesnt make any sense. Loney is Coletti's pet project, he loves sending him bats, bases, and snoopy valentines. they aren't going anywhere.

we should trade pierre to a team with a couple solid middle relief pitchers, because i along with others suspect broxton and his lack of an effective third pitch isnt going to be the stud we thought he would be. we should eat as much as his salary as it takes to keep the lineups we've all suggested above. we have a core, its awesome, its exciting, its hopeful. some people are just complete wacko's on this site who fantasize about idiotic trades to Tampa Bay that make no sense.

293 hah! that's not gonna happen. this airport is extremely land-constricted, and i'm pretty sure it would take massive delays before the public approves of the measures needed (more runways) to accommodate growing demand. what we do for the most part is plan facility changes within the existing footprint of the airport property. take into account demand forecasts and program requirements, and see how those needs can be addressed. right now our biggest project is a 10-12 year long terminal redevelopment. we're also looking at redesigning some of our cargo facilities, enhancing runway safety areas, things like that.

From what I've read and calculated, OBP and SLG are very close in terms of correlation with run production, bested by OPS. The reason OBP gets more "limelight" is because it was undervalued as Moneyball revealed. SLG was really never undervalued, power was always valued.

For the 2007 NL season, OBP and SLG had a .9 correlation, with OPS at .95 (1 being perfect). BA came in less than .7.

My friend (Braves fan) thinks Andruw's contract year really hurt his performance in terms of BA - he really tried too hard at the plate, overswinging and not being selective.

59 I have the current 2008 Dodgers salary at about $108.321M plus $3.15M in non-roster salary owed for a total of @$111.471M which is about $8.7M less than the final 2007 salary total.

The $8.7M margin is not enough to sign a quality FA pitcher such as Kuroda so I would assume a high salaried player would have to be traded.

Kemp, Ethier or LaRoche would not make much of a dent in the salary picture. Pierre $8M/Loaiza $7M, on the other hand, would free a nice chunk of change to help finance a quality FA pitcher, plus some fancy backup PVL.

Of course, this is based upon the assumption that Frank does not open his wallet a little wider.

Let's say it's trade Ethier or trade Kemp. I'd rather keep Kemp, not that I don't want Ethier around, I do . . . but with Druw's arrival I'm preparing myself for the departure of a youngster; believe it's more likely one of them over Pierre. Does Ethier have enough value to be the centerpiece of a trade that garners high-end talent? He's certainly worth more than a middle reliever. Thoughts . . .

It's nuts how people are saying last year really hurt Druw's contract this year. A salary in the top ten can harldy be called painful. Then again, if he had posted similar numbers to '05 and '06 during this past season, Boras would have been pushing for Arod money. This market . . . crazy, weird, wild wacky, nutty, zany, kooky.